


i hear the bells (and they're ringin' already)

by pawnshophearttradingup



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 04:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18843541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pawnshophearttradingup/pseuds/pawnshophearttradingup
Summary: Alfonse was the first of the two of them to find his voice again, stepping forward to meet Zacharias better. He still couldn’t quite believe his eyes, that Zacharias was here again. “Were you forced to attend a festival, too?” he asked, not entirely sure what answer he was hoping for, or why he even wanted to know in the first place. He hoped he sounded light enough, like he wasn’t desperate to know what the answer was.His voice startled Zacharias enough into speaking. “No, no, I was… in the middle of getting married.”





	i hear the bells (and they're ringin' already)

**Author's Note:**

> yeehaw. intsys won't give me groom bruno so i did it myself. this is another old, previously unposted fic btw! i seem to have a lot of those
> 
> thanks geo for beta-ing for me as always. i'd k*ll for you

Kiran had gathered a lot of orbs over the past couple of weeks, so many that he was practically hoarding them, in fact. When asked about it, he said he was saving up for something, so Alfonse had known ahead of time he was planning on summoning heroes very soon.

He just hadn’t known what hero Kiran was trying to summon. All Alfonse knew was that it was important to Kiran that he summoned them, and important enough that Kiran was trying his hardest to guarantee this hero’s arrival.

While Alfonse, as a higher-ranking member of the Order of Heroes and Crown Prince of Askr, was obligated to be at the summonings in any case, he couldn’t deny that there was something more exciting about it this time. Kiran had dodged almost all of Alfonse’s questions, few as they were, and literally all of Sharena’s, which was admirable for how numerous they were. He would never admit it out loud, but Alfonse’s curiosity was beginning to get the better of him and he was eager to learn what Kiran had been waiting for.

When the light of the summoning stone cleared, he saw a very familiar face in front of him, one he hadn’t properly seen in… far too long. There was no denying it was Zacharias staring down at him, looking positively shocked. He didn’t say anything at first, stunned as he was, not that Alfonse was much better. Still, the silence gave Alfonse the chance to look over his friend’s outfit.

It certainly wasn’t the usual black armor he wore when they’d been fighting each other, nor was it the standard uniform of the Order of Heroes.

It looked like a suit of some kind. The jacket was white, with gold outlining every edge and long coattails hitting the back of his knees. He wore a gold vest underneath, and then a dark blue button-up shirt underneath that. He was also wearing a white bow tie that reminded Alfonse of the ribbon Kiran had “gifted” him (which was still, despite Alfonse’s initial reaction to it, tied in his hair meticulously every morning). The trousers of the ensemble were plain, and white like the jacket, while the boots that completed the outfit were the same dark blue color of the button-up shirt.

The part of the ensemble that truly clued Alfonse into what had happened, though, was the see-through veil hanging in front of Zacharias’s face. It had two layers, one reaching the middle of his back. The one in front, which Zacharias was currently pushing back (with blue gloves, though Alfonse just barely noticed, transfixed as he was) to reveal himself better, only reached his shoulders.

The veil was simple, but Alfonse found himself struck by how graceful it made Zacharias look. Not that he hadn’t always been graceful ever since Alfonse met him, when they were both young, but this was different. It was a kind of beauty that Alfonse had only ever seen present at weddings.

Alfonse was the first of the two of them to find his voice again, stepping forward to meet Zacharias better. He still couldn’t quite believe his eyes, that Zacharias was here again. “Were you forced to attend a festival, too?” he asked, not entirely sure what answer he was hoping for, or why he even wanted to know in the first place. He hoped he sounded light enough, like he wasn’t desperate to know what the answer was.

His voice startled Zacharias enough into speaking. “No, no, I was… in the middle of getting married.”

 

Alfonse didn’t know why it bothered him so much. It wasn’t his Zacharias, after all. This was another world’s Zacharias, one that could get married to whoever he wanted without Alfonse’s permission.

Not that the Zacharias of this world needed Alfonse’s permission, either!

Again, he didn’t know why it was bothering him so much, except for how this Zacharias was still around. He could go home any time he wanted, and Alfonse was sure he knew that, but he still stayed.

Wasn’t he getting married when he was whisked away to this Askr? Alfonse would have expected him to be eager to get back to that. Yet, when he asked, all Zacharias had said was that his help was needed here, so he had no qualms with sticking around for now, and Alfonse had no desire to question him more on it.

Except he did, really, but dread and anticipation mixed and settled heavy in his stomach when he contemplated asking more. He wasn’t even sure Zacharias would answer him if he asked. Alfonse hoped he would, but then again, this Zacharias wasn’t his best friend.

Maybe they hadn’t been close in the groom’s world. He would have no reason to tell Alfonse anything, anyway, never mind this Alfonse.

Still, Alfonse recognized very well the colors of Zacharias’s outfit. He had to, seeing as how he’d worn those colors almost every day of his life. Either he was marrying into the Askran royal family, or he was marrying another member of the Order of Heroes.

He hadn’t ever seemed interested in the other heroes when he was here, but then again, this Zacharias might be different.

It couldn’t be Sharena, she would never. She was determined to marry for love, and men had never been her type.

Commander Anna, maybe? No, Alfonse couldn’t imagine that happening, either.

He was dying to know, so he worked up his nerves and headed to Zacharias’s room. (He’d taken the room of this world’s Zacharias, since it was currently unoccupied, and it was his, technically. Alfonse had been pleased to know some things were still the same between worlds.)

He knocked on the door, glad he wasn’t shaking as he rapped his fist against the sturdy wood.

“Come in,” Zacharias called out from within, and Alfonse wasted no time in doing so.

Zacharias was sat at his desk, one of the books from the library in front of him while he skimmed through it. “Hello, Alfonse,” he greeted, without even glancing his way until after he’d spoken. He smiled, face completely unobscured by the veil for the time being. “Was there something you wanted?”

“How did you know it was me?” he asked, stepping closer.

Zacharias hesitated, as if he wasn’t sure how he would be received. “You always enter my room like this,” he eventually answered, turning back to his book. It was a favorite of this world’s Zacharias, too, a volume on the relations between the different kingdoms in Zenith over time. “But that wasn’t what you wanted to speak to me about, was it?”

Alfonse shook his head, taking a moment to think over exactly what he wanted to say. “Who… who were you getting married to? It has to be someone from Askr, right?”

Zacharias practically recoiled at that question, but he slowly turned towards Alfonse and answered it anyway. “You’re as perceptive as always, my friend. Yes, it is. Your sister made the outfit, too, when she found out who I was marrying.” A half-answer, at least. But that still let Alfonse know it most likely wasn’t Sharena that Zacharias was marrying.

“But… who was your bride?”

Zacharias stifled a laugh, reaching out to brush some of Alfonse’s hair out of his face. “A groom, actually, and do you really need to ask? There was only ever one person it could be, after all.”

Alfonse felt his heart fluttering in his chest at the gesture. “I’m sure I’m not misreading this, but please tell me. For my peace of mind, be direct.”

“It was you,” Zacharias said, the look on his face distinctly fond. Alfonse had never known before now that three simple words could ever make him feel such relief.

 

It turned out there were only a few distinctions between Zacharias’s and Alfonse’s worlds, but that they had apparently made all the difference.

The first difference, which really, led to all of the ones Alfonse had been told about, was that, when Bruno’s true identity as Zacharias had been found out, the Order of Heroes (“You and Sharena, in particular,” Zacharias said, lips quirked wryly) hadn’t let him just leave again.

He’d been brought back to Askr, allowed to be himself in whatever capacity he chose to be. Anyone who’d known him before continued calling him Zacharias, because he was still more than attached to the name. Others called him Bruno, and he was fine with both.

The second difference, which wasn’t much of a difference when Alfonse thought about it, was that Alfonse had confessed his love to Zacharias.

Apparently, though Zacharias refused to tell him how, he’d made quite a spectacle of himself, with his sister’s help.

Alfonse knew, in this world, that Zacharias had to have known about his affections. He’d made no secret of his feelings, even though he’d never made anything he’d consider a first move. A confession hadn’t been necessary, he’d been so open about it.

He hadn’t known Zacharias felt the same. He’d known that Zacharias cared for him, had considered that maybe his feelings were reciprocated, but he was never certain.

Still, with what the groom had told him, Alfonse couldn’t help but hope. If so much else was the same, then surely, this had to be, too. Zacharias might not have made a first move, either, but now, Alfonse had to consider that there were other reasons Zacharias wouldn’t or couldn’t do that. He was always the more practical of the two, in any case.

Alfonse was newly determined to bring Zacharias home, because if the other Zacharias was to be believed, then one of these days, Alfonse would get to wear an outfit quite similar to the one he was wearing.

“But, please, love. Consider not letting Sharena help you plan your confession,” Zacharias suggested, looking amused in spite of himself. “It took ages for us to clean up the mess, even with three of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from "jumpstarted" by jukebox the ghost. i spent... way too long looking for a title for this
> 
> anyway. u know how it goes by now i'm sure. i'm [@lineraway](https://twitter.com/lineraway) on twitter and [zenithgays](https://zenithgays.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


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